


Four Years and A Day

by Dryad



Category: SHINee
Genre: AU, College, M/M, NC17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:53:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26072239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dryad/pseuds/Dryad
Summary: "I've got a date," announced Minho loudly as he sat down, cracking open a bottle of barley tea.
Relationships: Choi Minho/Kim Jonghyun
Comments: 9
Kudos: 19
Collections: Summer of SHINee Round 2





	Four Years and A Day

**~ Year One: New Things ~**

It started innocently, as most things do.

Freshman year in college, one of those new student events where everyone in the class had dinner and drinks and did 'fun' activities. They were playing Pop the Balloon, which involved two people lying atop one another with a balloon between their chests. There were bound mats covered with blankets that formed a kind of lumpy path they were to roll down, where they were to pop the balloon without using their hands, and then roll back up again.

Watching others do it was a lot of fun, and it was for Jonghyun too, his partner chosen by the flip of a coin. Fun until two things happened simultaneously:

He realized the boy underneath him was stunningly beautiful.

He was hard as hell.

What was worse, so was the boy.

The other boy gave no indication of anything unusual, so Jonghyun relaxed a little. Still, he was unsettled. That kind of thing never went unnoticed.

A few weeks later he was proven right.

He was in the locker room after having gone for a swim in the University's Olympic sized swimming pool (he only knew because that fact was prominently featured in all of the literature about the school), getting dressed after a quick shower, when the boy appeared at the next locker. 

The boy looked him up and down, then stripped off his shirt. Jonghyun tried not to stare - he _tried_ , and failed - as the boy continued on, turning his back as he put on narrow cut skimpy red swim trunks. Delaying tying his shoes would only be creepy, so he quickly slung his sports bag over his shoulder and left for the library. He had a song to write.

**~ Year Two: The Cafe ~**

_"I don't want to talk about it any more."_

_"We have to discuss it!"_

_"I don't want to."_

_"Jiwoo, we'll break up if we don't."_

Pure silence in the cafe, not even the clink of a cup against a saucer or the metallic swirl of a spoon against porcelain, as if everyone were holding their collective breath.

_"I'm leaving first. I'll call you."_

_"Heol..."_

Jonghyun kept his head down as he surreptitiously glanced in the direction of the couple breaking up. The woman had put on her coat and was gathering her purse. She paused to look at her companion, who was staring at the table, then swept away, shaking her head.

Not an unkind breakup, he didn't think. Never pleasant when it took place in public, but still...maybe he could work that aspect into the song; the embarrassment of being overheard (by such nosy people as himself, naturally), the effort not to cry, feeling like there was a giant glowing arrow above his head pointing to the loser who'd just gotten dumped.

Okay, maybe that was putting too much into the song. On the other hand, it was a common experience, who couldn't relate?

As soon as the thought occurred to him, he sighed and sat back in his chair. There were a lot of people who couldn't relate, so maybe that was the angle the song had to take? Maybe it should be from the point of an uninvolved observer, someone who longed even for that experience? Because he could relate to that, too.

Or was he just over thinking it like usual, trying to fit in all the things when really, all he had to do was pick a point of view.

The man shoved back from the table so hard the chair's legs screeched against the concrete floor. Everyone looked his way, giving him the attention that Jonghyun could guarantee he did not want. Jonghyun glanced down at his notebook to give the man some privacy, although he kept aware of the man in his peripheral vision. 

The man visibly collected himself, his shoulders heaving up and down as he took a few deep breaths. When he left the cafe his stride was long and strong without hesitation. Whether that was just for show or part of his essential character - Jonghyun suspected the latter - it was a good show. Busily jotting down potential lyrics, he didn't pay attention to the person who sat next to him.

"Hello."

Glancing up, Jonghyun stuttered a greeting back. "Ah, h-hello. Choi Minho, right?"

Tall and handsome nodded back, a slight smile on his shapely lips.

"I'm Kim Jonghyun," said Jonghyun, feeling like an idiot as Minho nodded. What else could he mention; He was Korean, they were attending the same college, he'd seen Minho around, he knew Minho was big on sports, he wanted to write crime novels, he was a singer and he loved to dance and oh god, Minho was staring at him quizzically and he hadn't said all of that aloud, right?

Minho grimaced as he felt around the depths of his backpack."Can I borrow a pen?" 

A pen? He could borrow anything he liked. "Sure," said Jonghyun, holding out the one in his hand.

"Thanks," Minho took the pen, then grunted in dissatisfaction. "It's always something," he said, putting down the pen to dig through his black backpack once again.

"Yeah," muttered Jonghyun. Why was Minho sitting next to him? The cafe was busy,sure, but there were plenty of other seats and Minho had never shown any signs of being aware of Jonghyun's existence, never mind his name.

As if reading Jonghyun's mind, Minho glanced up and grinned. He slapped a notebook on the table, uncapped the pen and wrote Jonghyun's name with a flourish. "What's your number?"

Jonghyun choked out a laugh. "Sorry?"

"Your phone. I'd put it directly into mine, but I left it at home."

"Okay...but why?" 

Minho stared at him in disbelief. "The project? For the class?"

"I..." He had a vague recollection of Professor Noh talking about a project - "I think I was sick that day."

"Ah," said Minho, side-eying Jonghyun. "The class was broken up into groups of five. I'm the leader for ours - "

Jonghyun held up his hands. "Wait, wait a minute, how am I in your group?"

"I picked you."

"But...why?" he repeated.

Minho's head tilted to one side, his brows draw together quizzically. "I've heard you sing."

Jonghyun felt his cheeks heat and looked down shyly. 

"Anyway, I know you can write and sing, and can you dance?"

"After a fashion..."

"Trainable, good."

"I don't - "

"Are you dating?" asked Minho abruptly, continuing to write without looking up.

"Uh, no?"

"Good."

"Is it?" joked Jonghyun nervously.

Minho nodded. "Yeah, gives us more time to work on the song."

"Oh, right..."

"I'll contact Aera and let her know when and where we're meeting," said Minho, flipping the notebook shut. He slid the pen across the table, where it promptly careened off of Jonghyun's mug and dropped on to the floor. By the time he picked it up, Minho had stood and was stepping away from the table.

"See you Thursday - "

And he was gone.

**~ Year Three: Pure ~**

He was pleasantly buzzed, having a good time and grooving to the music by himself in one dark corner of the club. Pure was a tiny hole in the wall down an alley, the kind of place where the DJs played what they wanted when they wanted. Could be Trot, could be LeeNalchi, could be Perfume, could be Stevie Wonder or Moloko or Robyn. He liked it because the capacity on the dance floor was small, maybe a hundred people - if they were friendly - on the nights when there was music, otherwise the place was just a cafe during the day. All in all, it was a club only for people in the know, and because his cousin owned it, he was in the know. 

He'd come out tonight because he needed the break from studying. A little beer, a little soju and he was happy to stand there with his eyes closed, being ignored by everyone.

"Hey."

Jonghyun was vaguely aware of someone standing close by, but that didn't mean he was being addressed; it was Friday night and the club was packed.

"Jonghyun!" 

As if the shout in his ear wasn't enough, the elbow bump to his arm certain was. Jonghyun opened his eyes and - ah. "Minho-ssi! What are you doing here?"

On cue, there was a change of music, something a bit more quiet - Bajofondo Music Club?? No, god no, something soothingly electronic. He shifted from foot to foot, getting into the beat.

Minho jerked forward closer to Jonghyun, sending an irritated glance over his shoulder at the dancers who had bumped into him.

Which was why Jonghyun was happy against the wall. Instead of stepping to the side like a normal person, Minho stayed in front of Jonghyun, crowding close. 

Well. Okay.

"My friend Max said this place was fun," said Minho, finally stepping to the side as the dancers kept bumping him. He leaned and spoke into Jonghyun's ear. "He went off to the bar fifteen minutes ago and I haven't seen him since!"

Jonghyun nodded. A busy night could easily see the bar three people deep, all wanting the bartenders attention. "It's a great place! I know the owner!"

"So you've got all the perks, nice," Minho said, raising his voice as the volume of the song increased. "You come here often?"

"Often enough."

Minho nodded and for awhile they both stood there, people watching. 

"Max!" 

Jonghyun jumped at Minho's shout, watched another tall man waves and approach the two of them. Minho introduced them, but Max soon excused himself, peeling away to join his friends upstairs for a round of gaming.

"Aren't you going to join them?" Jonghyun asked curiously.

"Nah. More fun with you down here."

"Oh."

Pleased by the answer, Jonghyun didn't think too much about it until a song with heavy baseline came on. It was familiar, in fact he was sure he really liked this song, but Minho was on the move, taking charge in the way that made Jonghyun weak in the knees every time.

With his hands on Jonghyun's hips, Minho grinned and pressed him back against the wall. Wide-eyed and too surprised to push back (also he wanted to see how far Minho would take things, because there weren't usually people around when they did this), Jonghyun allowed it. Besides, they were both wearing black and maybe...things...wouldn't be as noticeable. Half the bar was drunk, it was noisy and the spinning lights would surely make anyone dizzy...right? It was dark, but it not so dark people couldn't see what they were doing. As if on cue, the overhead lights switched to multicolored spinning disco lights. The dance floor heaved as everyone came to dance to the latest popular tune.

Minho slotted his leg between Jonghyun's legs, took Jonghyun's head in his hands and quite thoroughly kissed him. Jonghyun let his eyelids flutter shut, enjoying the little swipes of Minho's tongue against his lips, just little taps, like someone trying to get his attention. 

And Minho had big hands. Hands that swept up Jonghyun's sides and curled around his ass to knead and squeeze. While that was happening, Minho's thigh pressed against Jonghyun's groin and yeah, oh yeah, that was good.

What Jonghyun really wanted to do was wrap his arms around Minho's neck and pull him down.

But hell, public, for real, they were in public and even though there were plenty of foreigners who didn't give a damn, there were also Koreans who would. 

Pushing against Minho's chest, Jonghyun managed to get him off of their kiss. "Minho-ssi - "

Minho rolled his eyes. "Really? Don't you think it's a little late for this kind of talk?"

"No, it's not that, but we're in a club, yeah?"

"I don't care," said Minho, swooping back in.

Things happened pretty quickly after that. Maybe it was the fact that they were in public, maybe it was the way Minho handled Jonghyun; nothing unclothed, there was no bare skin against bare skin although god, even though it had been three years since they started this, whatever the hell this was, they really needed to find a time and a place maybe -

Minho broke free long enough to say something Jonghyun couldn't hear over the music, never mind the suddenly strobing lights that turned everything into cut scenes like a movie. Behind Minho the crowd was jumping up and down, freeze-framing mouths open in happy screams, hair flying into the air. 

One second Jonghyun was distracted by the lights, the next all he could understand was the tight grip of Minho's hand through his jeans, the way Minho's thigh pressed against the underside of his balls, the fact that he was on the verge of orgasm and then he was in the throes of it, pulsing in time with the lights and he couldn't help the high pitched grunts coming out of his mouth because _damn_ it was so very, very good and he hadn't realized how keyed up he had been.

"I love that face," said Minho, still grinning, but it seemed to have an edge of desperation to it.

"You should, you see it often enough," said Jonghyun slowly, trying to think. Where could they go? Minho was too tall for a repeat performance, everyone would see - ah. "Don't move."

Ignoring Minho's bright gaze, which was quickly shuttered when he closed his eyes as Jonghyun unzipped the fly of his jeans, Jonghyun reached in, just a little bit, to rub and stroke Minho's cock with his fingertips, because Minho was an athlete and always put himself _up_.

Minho visibly sucked in a breath. Bracing himself on his elbows against the wall, so close Jonghyun could feel the wash of his breath against his cheek. All the easier for Jonghyun to continue what he was doing. "Don't move - they see your hips moving they'll figure it out, so don't move."

It didn't take long before was Minho gasping and trembling, and then Jonghyun caught a mess in his hand. He didn't fancy wiping it on their clothing - ugh. 

"Pocket," breathed Minho, nuzzling Jonghyun's temple.

Jonghyun dutifully followed directions and stuck his hand in Minho's jeans pocket, wiping as much off as he could. He would be a little sticky until he could get to the toilet, but it could be worse. Hell, it was worse; his underwear felt clammy and disgusting. 

Jonghyun zipped Minho up, patted him on the side and then ducked underneath his arm to practically run to the hall. A quick duck into the toilet stall with a wet paper towel for a tidy, the fastest washing of hands he had ever done, and then back out to the dance floor.

Minho had, of course, disappeared.

It wasn't anything unusual. It was, in fact, the pattern he had come to expect. Didn't mean he wasn't yet again disappointed. 

He was a fool, just a damned fool. Why couldn't he break the cycle? It's what any friend would tell him to do if any of them knew about, and...yet. 

Making his way to the bar, a chance glance from the bartender meant he got his beer order in sooner than expected. He gave a chin-jerk smile-nod at the blonde foreigner perched on the bar stool next to him, turned his attention back to the bartender struggling to pass his coworker juggling bottles. That most definitely looked both impressive and ridiculous in real life.

"Hey," slurred the blonde girl, chin cupped in her hand, leaning on the bar with her elbow. 

Jonghyun ignored her, hoping against hope she would stop staring at him.

"Hey!" she repeated, rudely poking him with her finger. 

He shifted away minutely, continued to ignore her.

_"Your boyfriens real hot..."_

"He's not my boyfriend," snapped Jonghyun. 

"Oh!" Eyebrows raised, she went wide-eyed as she sat up straight. _"Right, right. Well, your not-boyfriens real' hot."_

She was obviously drunk, so he pasted a smile on his lips and shook his head. _"Just friend."_

"'kay," she said.

Oh thank god, the bartender was making his way back, several bottles in hand. As long as one of them was for Jonghyun, he could still save his evening. Maybe.

The woman plucked at his leather bracelet, looked to his right, looked back at him, winked. "I see. Saw."

For one very brief instant, he had no idea what she meant, because her Korean was just as shit as his English. 

And then he glanced to the right. 

Oh.

Oh no.

Far from being discrete, they had been on full display for anyone at this end of the bar. Because it had been dark and the club was filled with people, he had made an entirely wrong assumption and clearly, he could never come back here again.

"Sir - "

He passed the payment over without looking at the bartender. Slugging back half the beer in one go, he thought about what to do next. Go home, obviously. Yeah, that was it, go home.

Next to him, the woman was singing along to the music, smiling to herself.

Jonghyun finished the beer, set the bottle down on the counter and steeled himself for the walk out of the club. He was probably going to face knowing looks, maybe some comments, undoubtedly a lot of laughter. Only himself to blame at the end of the day.

Time to go. 

As Jonghyun turned to leave, warmth enveloped his wrist. He managed not to jerk his arm free, because she probably didn't know what she was doing was incredibly rude.

"Okay? Okay!" She kept repeating, as if she could magically impart what she meant with the phrase. Finally she stood and patted her chest, frowning. "Okay! Maum, okay? Saranghae...yo? Maum?"

She loved him? Confused, he shook his head. This was his problem right here, he was too damned nice.

"No - " She frowned again, then pulled his hand against _her_ chest. "Maum," she said firmly, blinking slowly. "Maum. Namja chingu. Okay?"

Ah...he wasn't going to say it again, but he nodded anyway. That was enough to make her happy. "Maum," she muttered, slowly spinning the stool and reaching for her drink.

Jonghyun watched her for a moment to make sure she didn't spin right onto the floor before heading out of the club with a surprisingly eased heart.

**~ Year Four: The Cafe, Again ~**

"I've got a date," announced Minho loudly as he sat down, cracking open a bottle of barley tea.

A chorus of 'oooh's greeted his announcement, and from where he sat three tables away, Jonghyun smiled a little and tried to concentrate on what he was writing. But Minho was loud and kept interrupting Jonghyun's train of thought.

"Who?" 

"No one you know, Minsik," said Minho with a sly grin. "Don't think you'll steal them away from me this time!"

What? Jonghyun glanced towards Minho's group. Of the two whose profiles he could see, they looked attractive enough, certainly not in Minho's league. Besides, the one with his back to Jonghyun had a truly terrible dye job on top of a nearly shaved head. That particular shade of blond didn't do anyone favors.

"Hey now, that was only the one time," answered Minsik, who turned out to be the blond boy.

"Twice!" crowed one of the others, slapping Minsik on the shoulder.

"Well…the second time wasn't intentional," said Minsik.

Minho rolled his eyes. "Sure, sure. But on the plus side, you saved me the trouble of being in a relationship with her, so it's all good."

The others snickered as Minsik leaned to one side, shaking his head. "You could have told me, y'know. What she was like."

Minho widened his eyes and sucked in a breath. "You play, you pay!"

Jonghyun instantly wrote it down. Catchy, and to the point. Maybe a little too much to the point. He wasn't sure where he stood between 'play' and 'pay' - best not think about it. With that thought in mind, he gathered up his things and headed out of the cafe without glancing back.

**~ Year Four: The Day After ~**

He opened the door, looked up. Smiled. "Hello."

Leaning against the door frame, Minho held up a plastic bag. "I brought dinner."

'Dinner' was all cold and liquid and they had to order takeout because Jonghyun hadn't been in the mood to eat when he got home. College had now been officially over for a week and his job at the radio station didn't start for another four days. Midnight shift, which was both exciting and irritating. He wasn't looking forward to coming home to an empty apartment, but he was co-host for the show! Who knew where it could lead? The director seemed excited about the songs he had written, and that was a great sign, too. 

But he could ignore all that for now, because Choi Minho was next to him on the bed and Jonghyun was watching Zinedine Zidane make a terrible, terrible decision on the field and even though he had little interest in football, Minho was was next to him and there was no place else Jonghyun wanted to be other than here. 

The crowd roared, the video ended, Minho put the tablet on the floor and rolled onto his side to face Jonghyun. Jonghyun matched his pose, wondering if he'd had too much to drink. His stomach was already upset and it wasn't even late in the evening. 

Minho didn't say anything.

Jonghyun forced himself to chuckle, then realized how nervous he sounded and stopped. "Strange not to be in school, isn't it?"

"Mm."

"Have you got a job yet?"

"Seoul Theatre Troupe."

"Are you serious? That's fantastic news! Congratulations!"

"Thank you."

"Wait, I'm going to get more soju - " Jonghyun sat up, but Minho tugged him back down.

"I'm greedy for more,' said Minho, toying with tongue of Jonghyun's leather belt.

"That sounds ominous," joked Jonghyun, even as his stomach soured. "Today Seoul, tomorrow the world!"

"I'm greedy because I want you by my side," Minho said, staring at Jonghyun's neck, or maybe his shirt, Jonghyun couldn't quite tell in the soft light of the candle he had lit earlier.

"I said I want you - "

Jonghyun cut Minho off mid-sentence, kissing him hard and fierce. He pulled back to brush the hair off of Minho's forehead. He was glad, ever so glad. "And you've got me. Let's be greedy together."

**Author's Note:**

> Maum - heart feeling _(only in poetry and song)_  
>  Namja Chingu - boy friend
> 
> Leenalchi/이날치- [Tiger is Coming](https://youtu.be/SmTRaSg2fTQ) [Pansoori, but different!]  
> Bajofondo ~ [Pide Piso](https://youtu.be/GnekEPW4Okg) [Electro Tango, from 'Bajofondo - Presente']
> 
> I really loved this prompt, but struggled to see it to fruition. I hope my poor offering works for you, Nonny!


End file.
